W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW) Shares Bought by Achmea Investment Management B.V.

Achmea Investment Management B.V. boosted its holdings in W.W. Grainger, Inc. (NYSE:GWW - Free Report) by 5.9% in the first quarter, according to the company in its most recent Form 13F filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC). The firm owned 25,202 shares of the industrial products company's stock after purchasing an additional 1,404 shares during the quarter. Achmea Investment Management B.V. owned approximately 0.05% of W.W. Grainger worth $24,895,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

A number of other institutional investors and hedge funds also recently modified their holdings of the business. Welch & Forbes LLC lifted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% in the 4th quarter. Welch & Forbes LLC now owns 481 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $507,000 after purchasing an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. United Community Bank lifted its stake in W.W. Grainger by 6.9% in the fourth quarter. United Community Bank now owns 155 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $163,000 after buying an additional 10 shares during the last quarter. PDS Planning Inc boosted its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.3% during the fourth quarter. PDS Planning Inc now owns 485 shares of the industrial products company's stock valued at $511,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the period. Zacks Investment Management grew its position in shares of W.W. Grainger by 2.1% during the fourth quarter. Zacks Investment Management now owns 545 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $575,000 after acquiring an additional 11 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. increased its holdings in shares of W.W. Grainger by 0.3% in the 4th quarter. Oppenheimer & Co. Inc. now owns 4,828 shares of the industrial products company's stock worth $5,089,000 after acquiring an additional 13 shares during the period. 80.70% of the stock is owned by institutional investors and hedge funds.

Insider Activity at W.W. Grainger

In related news, CFO Deidra C. Merriwether sold 1,164 shares of W.W. Grainger stock in a transaction dated Wednesday, April 2nd. The stock was sold at an average price of $997.12, for a total value of $1,160,647.68. Following the completion of the sale, the chief financial officer now directly owns 10,235 shares in the company, valued at $10,205,523.20. This trade represents a 10.21% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The sale was disclosed in a document filed with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which can be accessed through the SEC website. Also, VP Laurie R. Thomson sold 761 shares of the company's stock in a transaction dated Tuesday, May 6th. The shares were sold at an average price of $1,042.86, for a total transaction of $793,616.46. Following the transaction, the vice president now owns 578 shares in the company, valued at approximately $602,773.08. The trade was a 56.83% decrease in their ownership of the stock. The disclosure for this sale can be found here. Insiders sold a total of 2,205 shares of company stock valued at $2,255,320 over the last quarter. Corporate insiders own 6.10% of the company's stock.

W.W. Grainger Stock Performance

NYSE GWW opened at $1,016.48 on Friday. W.W. Grainger, Inc. has a 52-week low of $888.75 and a 52-week high of $1,227.66. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.59, a current ratio of 2.74 and a quick ratio of 1.60. The firm has a market capitalization of $48.83 billion, a price-to-earnings ratio of 26.10, a P/E/G ratio of 2.68 and a beta of 1.21. The company's fifty day moving average is $1,055.94 and its two-hundred day moving average is $1,043.43.

W.W. Grainger (NYSE:GWW - Get Free Report) last announced its quarterly earnings results on Thursday, May 1st. The industrial products company reported $9.86 earnings per share (EPS) for the quarter, beating the consensus estimate of $9.51 by $0.35. The firm had revenue of $4.31 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $4.31 billion. W.W. Grainger had a net margin of 11.08% and a return on equity of 51.28%. The business's revenue for the quarter was up 1.7% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the previous year, the firm posted $9.62 EPS. Equities research analysts forecast that W.W. Grainger, Inc. will post 40.3 EPS for the current year.

W.W. Grainger Increases Dividend

The business also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Sunday, June 1st. Stockholders of record on Monday, May 12th were paid a dividend of $2.26 per share. This is a boost from W.W. Grainger's previous quarterly dividend of $2.05. This represents a $9.04 annualized dividend and a dividend yield of 0.89%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, May 12th. W.W. Grainger's dividend payout ratio is 23.21%.

Analyst Upgrades and Downgrades

Several research firms recently weighed in on GWW. JPMorgan Chase & Co. upped their price objective on shares of W.W. Grainger from $1,100.00 to $1,125.00 and gave the stock a "neutral" rating in a report on Tuesday, May 27th. Wolfe Research lowered shares of W.W. Grainger from a "peer perform" rating to an "underperform" rating and set a $966.00 price objective for the company. in a research note on Thursday, April 3rd. William Blair raised W.W. Grainger from a "market perform" rating to an "outperform" rating in a research report on Monday, March 10th. Finally, Royal Bank Of Canada raised their price objective on W.W. Grainger from $1,097.00 to $1,144.00 and gave the stock a "sector perform" rating in a research report on Friday, May 2nd. Two investment analysts have rated the stock with a sell rating, eight have assigned a hold rating, two have given a buy rating and one has assigned a strong buy rating to the stock. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, W.W. Grainger presently has an average rating of "Hold" and a consensus price target of $1,123.13.

About W.W. Grainger

W.W. Grainger, Inc, together with its subsidiaries, distributes maintenance, repair, and operating products and services primarily in North America, Japan, the United Kingdom, and internationally. The company operates through two segments, High-Touch Solutions N.A. and Endless Assortment. The company provides safety, security, material handling and storage equipment, pumps and plumbing equipment, cleaning and maintenance, and metalworking and hand tools.

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